


Promises (and Preambles)

by ThaddeusBandido



Series: T Ban's Idiots in Inaba AU Fics [4]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: F/F, Idiots in Inaba AU, Love Confessions, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Rating for Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-27
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2021-01-04 19:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21203162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThaddeusBandido/pseuds/ThaddeusBandido
Summary: Golden Week was finally here, and two country Idiots have returned to the big city to see their best friends... that they plan to ask out.In two very different parts of Tokyo: the most anxiety-inducing and immensely rewarding phrase in human history tumbled out of two mouths, planned but dangerously unrehearsed.





	Promises (and Preambles)

**Author's Note:**

> When your friend dares you to ask out your crush, and you tell them that you'll only do it if they ask out their own crush, is that technically a double dare?
> 
> This is continuation of [The Trouble With Assumptions](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15926690), but is also the starting point of what I'm deeming the road to OT4: Two Plus Two.
> 
> Idiots in Inaba is the brainchild of Mango, one of the smartest fandom minds I know. This series would not have happened without the fabulous fanart of yyormgen, either. (This is unbeta'd for now! I gave it a proofread, but after a while, words stop looking like words, so...)
> 
> Please enjoy!

Akira had offered to go for a jog with Ryuji around Inokashira Park and soak up the fine weather of a spring afternoon. It never hurt to keep up good habits, stay in shape, and have a workout buddy to push him forward, either. 

_“You just wanna make sure your stay out in the countryside hasn’t made you too soft, don’tcha?”_ Ryuji had suggested over the phone, instead.

Akira wouldn’t let that sit unchallenged. “Hey, I work out. I stay fit.”

He heard a scoff in response. _“What, by climbing every tree in town and running away from the supposed ‘monster fish’ in the river?”_ Akira didn’t need to see Ryuji swing his hands up to give his exaggerated air quotes to know when he was being egged on.

“There’s always something to do in the middle of nowhere when you find your own fun, Ryuji.” He paused for a beat before a smirk grew on his face. “Maybe I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t lost a step since the start of the school year.”

The responding voice was playfully indignant. _“C’mon, who do ya think you’re talking to? Plus, if we go now, we can grab a snack before we meet up with the girls later.”_

That’s how friendly ribbing and jibing pushed both of them into running the path along the lake. 

Three miles, one foot in front of the other, matching pace. 

Perfect. They’d already dug into their bottomless bag of nonsense to talk about, which meant that his ulterior motive was already progressing according to plan. Now, all he needed was to get Ryuji and himself exhausted enough that neither of them could attempt to put up any last-second walls of snark. 

It was a far cry from their more active workout sessions, but it was enough to get their defenses out of the way—consumed enough by fatigue to bring about some radical honesty.

Akira was thankful for two things. First, the breeze coming off the lake surface was _divine_ in the heat of a spring afternoon. Second, time seemed to shrink on these runs with Ryuji, so he didn’t give himself the chance to overthink anything, for once.

After finally passing the bench that served as their starting marker, they finally sat down to rest. Ryuji was in the middle of downing a water bottle in record time. Akira’s stomach was performing enough gymnastics to prevent him from doing the same, as he watched the bobbing of Ryuji’s adam’s apple braced himself for what he was about to do.

_Breathe in through your nose, Akira._ “Hey, Ryuji.”

The blonde pulled away from his water bottle. “Yeah, bro?”

_Out through the mouth._ “I have something important I need to tell you.”

He stopped and looked slightly concerned as he twisted to face Akira. “Oooookay, you’re acting all jumpy. What's wrong?”

“Wrong? Nothing's wrong. Just working up the nerve, is all.” Akira wanted to adjust the glasses that weren’t on his face to help hide his anxious fidgeting.

Ryuji's look of confused concern deepened. “For what?”

Akira schooled his expression and faced his crush. “I love you.” His brain stuttered, and his blush went from light to tomato red when he couldn't stop his mouth from adding, "That's what."

His eyes bored into Ryuji's soul as they sat, inclined toward each other as Akira faced his fear and warily laid out an open, palm-up hand on his thigh. 

Ryuji had blinked maybe twice as he stared back, otherwise stock-still as the gears turned inside his head. He was busy recontextualizing every interaction they've had over the past year. 

The few seconds of silence felt like hours. 

Akira must have missed the hint of blush that rose on Ryuji's face in the sunlight, because he flinched imperceptibly. He began to pull his hand away and backpedaled, “We can pretend this didn't happen if you want, I just needed to—”

Ryuji shot his hand forward and grasped Akira's wrist. He shook his head as if to clear it. “Wait a sec. I just need to get the words right, first.” He readjusted his grip on his best friend's hand and took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on their now interlocking fingers.

“You're… you’re extremely important to me, man. Before everything, I was just some bum-legged eff-up to everyone else at school, getting politicked left and right by shitty teachers and the kids that played their game.” Ryuji dared to look up at Akira as he poured his heart out. “This year, the teachers still may not like me, but they at least trust me, and that's a leap that I never thought’d happen. Ever.”

He squeezed his hand slightly before he continued, “And then there's you, yourself. Y'know, for all the...” He paused to look over both shoulders before he leaned in to mumble, “_thieving_, I don't think I've met someone more selfless.” 

Akira opened his mouth to argue that on principle, but Ryuji squeezed his hand a little harder and pressed, “No, don't try to deny the easiest freakin’ thing to see in the world. You care, a lot, about all of us. You care about me.” He flashed a small smile at the boy in front of him. “You've always cared about me... in that way. I think.”

Akira just gulped and nodded, as he looked down at their where their hands were threaded together. He was running his thumb gently back and forth along the knuckle of Ryuji's index finger as if it were the most natural movement in the world. There was no way he was going to interrupt his punk now.

“You made me think a lot about myself, over the last year.” Akira's glance shot back up to Ryuji as he continued, “There were a few months early on where I thought it was just you being charismatic, but I think I've got myself sorted out.”

He shifted his eyes away and smiled shyly. “I'm pretty sure I love you, too.”

Akira's eyes began to shine a little brighter. He let the silence stretch between them before he started, himself. "You were the first person to believe in me here in the city, you know? You've always been special to me." He snickered lightly and continued, “I had a big, long declaration of love prepared, but it kind of just disappeared when I went to say it. I think you beat me to it, anyways.” 

Akira let go of their hold and lifted his hand up toward Ryuji’s face, and the blonde blushed brightly as he anticipated Akira's touch.

He picked a leaf out of his new boyfriend's hair and tossed it to the ground. He grinned cheekily. “I just had to get that outta there.”

A miserable groan ripped out of Ryuji's throat as he slapped himself on the forehead and wailed, “_Are you for real?_” 

Akira’s grin turned mischievous. “Very. I never took you for a shy one, Ryu-chan.”

Ryuji's right hand quickly joined his left as he attempted to hide his burning face. “C'mon, bro…”

Akira leaned in to peck a kiss on the back of one of Ryuji’s hands, which caused the boy to blush to his ears. _Cute_.

His teasing session was interrupted by both of their phones buzzing. A quick glance showed that Shiho and Ann were already on their way to Leblanc. 

They got up from the bench and made it to the station with the fastest run-walk they could get away with.

At the subway stop, Ryuji leaned in and asked, “So, uh, does this mean I can call you my boyfriend?” _Like we didn't just confess our love to each other_, Akira laughed to himself.

He discreetly reached for his hand and said just loud enough for him to hear, “Only if you allow me to do the same.”

Ryuji's smile could've powered the city.

* * *

On the other side of Tokyo, Shiho had been letting her mind rest after absorbing the entire story of the Phantom Thieves, as told in one very lengthy session. She always enjoyed watching Ann play her retro game consoles as a way to de-stress from the pressures of the outside world; occasionally, she'd pick up the second controller for some co-op games, but being with Ann was the actual important part of their little pastime.

Shiho had peppered her usual running commentary about the quality of Ann's game of choice with questions about her time in the Metaverse.

That didn't stop the commentary, though.

Ann was grinding through another button mashing minigame on Mario Party when, apropos of nothing, Shiho flatly recounted, “Remember that time we tricked Ryuji into calling Bowser a daddy?”

Ann snorted, willing her eyes to stay on the screen. “I mean, he's got a kid. The man is a father and there are people who find him sexy!”

From her spot, splayed across the couch with her limbs everywhere, Shiho's laugh became a full bodied reaction, remembering a younger Ryuji's instant and vocal backpedaling once the words escaped him.

Ann continued, “Oh and you know I told Akira the whole thing when the three of us went to lunch, like, last May. Ryuji launched right into his denial but I didn't even force Akira to respond, and _do you know what he said_?”

Shiho rolled slightly to peer at Ann. “What.”

Ann paused the game when her shoulders started shaking. She struggled to say, “H-he, he said,” she broke with a laugh. “He said that daddies were cancelled," Ann paused for a breath, "and that it was time for _strong, sensual mothers_ to take their place,” she barely eeked out through her trembling laughter.

Shiho tried to suppress the shocked chortling that bubbled up but failed miserably, lying back down on the couch and curling in on herself to avoid falling off the couch and calm the shaking from her laughter. 

Ann recovered enough to continue, “And then I, hah, and then I did that fake sexy growl thing, with the hand motion and everything, and I’ve never seen those two turn red so fast,” before she dissolved into laughter once again as she turned red herself.

"Okay, wait. Ann? I'm going to need you to show me which sexy growl you did." Shiho tried to keep her tittering under control as she added, "There's so much nuance! The boys may have gotten the wrong idea." Her wide grin threatened to break, but she held firm.

That effort was wasted, Shiho realized, as soon as Ann gave her the most <strike>sultry</strike> outrageous, seductive gaze as she made a claw with her right hand and swiped forward. She punctuated her scratch with a low, trilling, _"Wrrrrow."_

Shiho teed off on another fit of chuckles and groaned mindlessly in appreciation of Ann and her wiles. “God, I love you _so much_.”

Both her hands shot up to cover her mouth and her face went pale. 

That's... not what she planned. 

There was supposed to be a _confession_. A grandiose display of affection and fancy and adoration, meant to sweep Ann off her feet. It was going to be sweet, _the sweetest thing for the sweetest girl_, and she just… blurted it out.

_ That wasn't the plan, dammit. _

She dragged her attention to Ann, whose laughter had died off once she realized she was the only one laughing. The blonde stared at her with wide eyes, oblivious to her dread. 

Her voice was quiet. “Shiho, what's wrong?”

Shiho wasn't ready for this. She would never be ready for this and she regretted taking the push from Akira to do it. She just screwed everything up, didn't she? Dammit.

However, she could hear the gears turning in Ann's mind. “Wait." 

The few seconds of silence felt like hours. 

She heard Ann set down the shift on the couch. "Shiho, was that serious?” There was something slightly strained in her voice the more she spoke. “Please, I need you to tell me.” Shiho didn't move, so Ann pressed a little harder. “Was it?”

Shiho nodded mutely as she attempted to shove herself out of her own self-sabotage.

That meant that she didn't see Ann gently move before she felt her best friend wrap her in a hug.

“Thank god, I thought it was just me.”

Shiho went rigid in the one-sided hug, the rest of her turbulent thoughts clearing out in an instant as soon as she heard the light of her life. Ann's confession rang and resonated off the dome of her now vacant mind.

It didn't matter how much Akira swore up and down that her crush was requited, or how much they're ideal for each other. At the end of the day, hearing it from the one she loved was indescribably moving and relieving. Shiho felt her arms pull Ann tighter into the embrace.

The pressure disappeared. The dam broke loose, and Shiho's body wracked with an involuntary sob.

Ann immediately pulled out of the hug slightly to look at her friend. She absentmindedly tucked some of Shiho's loose strands of hair behind her ear as Ann looked at her with concern. “Shiho, are you alright?”

Shiho sniffled and offered a watery smile. “I'm fine, just… extremely happy right now. These are good tears.” She nestled into the crook of Ann's neck. “I've loved you for a long time, Ann. Every single thing you've done has made me love you more. And finding out you were a complete badass on the side last year? For my sake?” She squeezed her slightly as she sniffled. “The famous authors of the world have written love stories for less, and _I love you_ for it.”

Ann's grip on Shiho tightened. “Oh my god, now you're gonna make _me_ cry.”

Their embrace was comforting and cathartic, letting their repressed feelings slowly thaw away as they held each other quietly, contently.

Shiho eventually broke the quiet between them with a sniffle. “Ann?” 

“Yeah?” A matching sniffle from Ann made Shiho feel slightly better. Even if she was an ugly crier, she wasn't alone.

“Be my girlfriend?” Shiho's watery question was tinged with an intensely anxious energy.

Ann's response was immediate. “I _love_ you. Of course I'll be yours.”

Shiho matched Ann's tight grip out of pure joy. 

Eventually, their hug loosened into a loose cuddle lying down on the couch, absorbing each other's company. They stayed like that for a while before Shiho broke the silence.

“Ann.”

“Yeah?”

“Out in the countryside, you can see the entire night sky, and it's super bright out there. It's one of the few objectively nice things about living out there that you just don't see here, you know?”

“Mm. I miss it, sometimes.”

“I think I figured out why I can't see them in the city.” Shiho tried not to jump the gun and laugh at her own joke.

“Isn't it just light pollution?” The confusion in Ann's voice almost made Shiho's straight face break.

“You could say that.” She pushed out of the cuddle to put her hands on Ann's shoulders and stare her right in the eye. “When I have a girlfriend right in front of me that shines brighter than any of the stars in the sky, it can be a little hard to see anything else.”

_ “Shiho, oh my god.”  _

Ann grabbed Shiho's waist and rolled to position herself on top of their cuddle pile. “Can I kiss you?”

Shiho nodded and leaned in.

Time melted away as they touched lips and learned each other. Bumped noses, a few near misses, awkward hand placements…

One of their phone alarms went off. They both jolted and bonked foreheads, hissing as they separated in pain. Ann finally moved to check her phone and turned pale.

“_We were going to meet the boys in a half hour!_”

Shiho shot straight off the couch and started helping the cleaning effort without a second thought.

Not five minutes later, they left the apartment in a rush and Ann shot a text to the group chat.

Neither her or Shiho mentioned their entwined pinkies as they waited for the train at the station. It was just natural.

* * *

Akira and Ryuji bolted from the station to Leblanc, hoping they'd made it in time.

The fresh plate of curry in front of Shiho and the smell of brewing coffee, however, told them they were disastrously late. Behind the bar, Sojiro just gave his former charge an amused eyebrow as he idly cleaned out his coffee mugs. The message was sent: his curry and coffee might be good, but it's not from the Boss.

Ann had a guilty smile as Shiho pointed at Akira accusingly with her utensils. She finished chewing and, in lieu of an actual greeting, pointedly asked, “You three knew about this place and didn't tell me a _thing_?” Before anyone had the chance to respond, she shoved another helping of curry and rice in her mouth, closing her eyes as she chewed to dramatically savor the flavor.

Ryuji made a slightly offended sound, but Akira simply scoffed and replied, “The three of us were a little busy last year. You making up for lost time with that plate?”

Shiho took another heaping bite as she gently, kindly gave her friend the middle finger. Beside her, Ann’s shoulders shook in suppressed laughter.

A played-up, labored sigh came from Sojiro's direction. He wiped off his hands and took off his apron, done for the day. As he grabbed his hat and keys, he tossed a smaller keyring toward Akira and regarded him fondly. “Just remember to give those back at the end of the week, and don't wreck the furniture.”

Akira smiled back as the older man made for the door. “Got it, Boss.”

The second the door closed, Akira got to work finding the beans for his own coffee, readjusting to the cafe's atmosphere like a fish to water. Speaking of water…

Ryuji’s upper body landed with a thud on the bar to Akira's left as he groaned with pure suffering, “God, Akira, I'm so _thirsty_, one of these days I will finally have something to drink…” His arms flew limply over the bar, vaguely reaching for him.

Akira quickly poured out a glass of ice water and planted it right next to Ryuji's head. His boyfriend bounced back to life and started guzzling the cold beverage. He shook his head and went back to his beans, ignoring the muffled cry of pain from the brainfreeze that followed. He didn't hear the girls laugh at Ryuji's outrageous display—he was still trying to remember his personal off-the-menu brew.

_ Blue Mountain, blended with… god, what was the blend again? _

Ignorant of his plight, the other blonde in the room flagged him down from behind her curry-focused girlfriend. “Hey. Akira.”

When he finally looked up, she flashed him the cream and sugar she smuggled in from her apartment in her bag. He understood immediately and started an illicit, secret coffee for Ann.

The routine of a standard coffee clicked him back into the Leblanc mindset, and immediately he set forth to make his special blend from muscle memory. It felt like no time at all, but soon he was squeezing Ryuji into the booth with the girls and joining them.

He gave Ryuji a quick nudge to the knee under the table and then said, “Girls, I have some news for you.”

Shiho’s expression lit up and she tacked on, “I have some news, too, boys.”

“You should go first, Shiho.”

“No, please, you were the first to bring it up.”

“Are you sure? It sounds important.” His trademark smirk slid onto his face easily. Now Akira was toying with her in addition to stringing along the blondes.

“Oh, it's important,” Ann hastily added, leaning forward to get in Akira's field of view.

Ryuji mirrored her movement, leaning toward her. “Yeah, but so is his. He should go first.”

Shiho wasn't ready to give up the ghost yet, so she waved both of them off. “Girls, you're both pretty. Mine's important, but if you're this insistent, then you should go first.”

Akira did his best to hide his excitement, and thankfully the other two hadn't caught on yet. “Maybe we should just say it at the same time.”

Shiho's eyes sparkled as she tried to mime looking thoughtful. “I think that'd work.”

Ryuji sputtered, and Ann groaned, “That's maybe the _worst_ possible idea.” She was firmly ignored by the other two.

Akira held up three fingers. “On three?”

“Sure,” Shiho acquiesced. Akira was about to count when she interrupted, “Wait, like _on_ three, or the beat _after_ three? Like where a hypothetical zero _would_ be?”

Akira sighed, “Yes.”

“Wait, yes to which one!?”

Ryuji drawled, “Oh my god, who let you two find each other?” Ann just buried her head in her hands, shaking her head slowly and trying not to laugh.

Akira faked exasperation. “The second one, of course. You wanna do this Suzui?”

“Go.”

The blondes pulled themselves out of their sulking quickly and stared catty-cornered across the table.

“Three, two, one…”

“Ryuji and I are going out.”

_ “Ann and I are dating now.” _

A split second went by while the blondes processed their datemates confessing over one another, but everything clicked in an instant and their eyes blew wide as they stared at each other. The country kids jumped out of the booth and hugged each other, and Ann shot her hands out to claim Ryuji's in celebration. For his part, Ryuji looked flustered, but Ann hadn't seen him look this happy in months.

At that moment, the raven-haired duo split and slid back into the booth and each kissed their new loved ones right on the cheek. Both their targets flushed a pretty shade of red, and Shiho snickered at her outspoken girlfriend becoming bashful.

Ryuji was rubbing the flush out of his face when he looked at Akira—who wore the grin of a cat that got the cream—and glanced at a scarily similar-looking Shiho and the last jigsaw piece fit in his mind.

“You two planned this, didn't ya?”

Akira’s smile softened as he replied, “It's easier to ask someone out if you know you're not the only one putting yourself out there.”

Ann gasped lightly. “Shiho…”

The girl in question smiled. “I… may have needed a little push.” She put an arm around Ann's waist and leaned into her sidelong. “We’ve been sitting on this for a few weeks.”

Akira nodded, and turned to his boyfriend with a suave sway, resting his elbow on the booth. “Would you have had this any other way?”

Ann huffed a laugh at the cheesy line, but Ryuji simply grabbed the hand Akira unknowingly dangled in front of him and kissed his knuckles. Shiho outright scoffed as Akira began to flush at the tables being turned on him. Ryuji wore the most self-satisfying grin his face would allow.

“Nah, probably not.”

**Author's Note:**

> Finally, the true Part 1 of Two Plus Two. Sorry for the late post, my personal life has gotten very busy.
> 
> One point I'd like to bring up pre-emptively: At this point, Shiho knows about the Phantom Thieves, has met all the Thieves, and has heard their perspective of the events of the game. I probably won't write this scene for two reasons: first, I imagine it to be really similar to Chapter 2 of TaurusVersant's [Shiho and the Phantom Thieves](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12715353/chapters/29041248) since it was another major source of inspiration for the back half of my planned writing for this AU; second, there is absolutely no way I'll be able to write it to my satisfaction (considering that what I envision that scene to look like already exists).
> 
> Comments are always appreciated! I can't promise a speedy response, I will do my best to respond to everything.
> 
> You can find me on Twitter at [@tbandido_writes](https://twitter.com/tbandido_writes)!


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